Townsville Solar City
The Townsville:Queensland Solar City consortium is working with industry, businesses and the local community to rethink the way they produce and use energy.
The Townsville Solar City project will focus on Magnetic Island and the Townsville region, including Serene Valley and Riverway.
Practical benefits for the local community
Townsville, in Queensland, is a rapidly growing city with increasing energy demands. Receiving approximately 300 days of sunshine each year, Townsville is an ideal location for a Solar City.
One of the unique trials underway through the Townsville Solar City involves the installation of solar energy systems on a large number of homes on Magnetic Island to meet additional energy demand and reduce pressure on the electricity grid.
Energy options being trialed through the Townsville Solar City include the following:
In the Solar Suburb of Magnetic Island
- 500 selected residential and business premises will have up to one megawatt of solar energy installed, at no cost to the owner.
- 1700 smart meters will be installed
- in-house energy displays installed in 1600 premises to give householders and business owners more information about the use and cost of their electricity.
- 2500 participants will be given assistance to better manage their electricity demand and save money.
- electricity tariffs and incentives to encourage participants to reduce electricity use when demand is high, will be trialed
- test better electricity management systems including enhanced air conditioning control.
Across the Townsville region:
- energy efficiency advice will be provided to thousands of households and businesses
- an additional 800 smart meters will be installed to monitor energy data
- additional solar energy systems and energy efficiency measures in two new housing estates and a central business district building.
Additional benefits
Additional benefits of the Townsville Solar City include:
- savings of more than 47gigawatt hours of electricity
- reduced greenhouse emissions by 50,400 tonnes
- valuable information and lessons learned will inform energy and greenhouse policies.
Consortium leaders
The Townsville:Queensland Solar City consortium is joining with the Australian Government in delivering this innovative new trial. Project leaders are Ergon Energy, the Queensland Government's Department of Energy, with consortium members including the Townsville City Council, HIG Riverway (JV), Delfin Townsville and Cafalo Pty Ltd.
Australia's Solar Cities
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